Everyone remembers the first time that they travel abroad and it seems to be that with every generation that is born the average age that people get to travel abroad for the first time gets lower and lower.

I remember the first time that I wanted to go away without my family and it was a trip to America when I was about 11 years old. One of the key justification strategies that I employed (yes, I was 11 and already thinking about justification strategies to utilise against my parents logical reasoning) was that I would get to experience new things that otherwise would be excluded from me for a number of years. Of course these experiences (travelling to Kissimmee, Orlando, Florida, seeing Disney World, Epcot, Water World etc) will help me to achieve better grades on my GCSEs when they come around – in fact I think it was getting accepted into a better secondary school aged 12 was the hook I recall using.

Thinking about it now though, I’m starting to think that at aged 11 I may have known more than I thought at the time. This holiday was of course the catalyst that I used to justify later holidays with friends, ranging from adventure trips to Wales (and no my parents did not get me specialist adventure trip, or backpacker travel insurance at the time – although they probably should have thinking about the activities – from abseiling to waterskiing) to over 18’s holidays to Ibiza.

How much do people learn from going away compared to staying at home?

Surely going abroad can help to get people excited about other cultures and at a bare minimum have them passively learn a lot about a county without having to try to learn.

Picking up some terms in other languages can ignite previously unknown appreciations for languages and language skills that may have otherwise remained dormant.

I can only think that this is just the beginning and that travelling, however popular at present, will only become more popular when objectively looking into the personal gains that can be had.

Lee Wilson – I have been active in the online arena since completing my degree in business from Winchester Uni in 2003. Career wise I have worked as an online and direct marketing manager within the financial services sector covering the UK and USA for over 7 years as well as setting up and running my own online business prior to specialising in SEO. Please do follow me on Google Plus, LinkedIn, and/or follow me on Twitter

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http://www.247travelinsurance.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/247-travel-300x95.png00djeffreyhttp://www.247travelinsurance.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/247-travel-300x95.pngdjeffrey2012-08-23 13:07:002016-02-15 14:12:50Travelling as a kid can teach you so much